29.9.10

I have been meaning to try making a new style of necktie for a long time. About a year ago I came across a batch of neckties in an antiques market: they had square tips and were made of wool. Some were stitched along the ends, and some had the selvedge edge of the fabric left as the tip. I thought they were pretty great, so I have started making square-end neckties, which I'm calling the "Debonair" tie. These are beyond vintage-inspired and are actually antique-inspired, I suppose, as this style of tie was used prior to the mid 1920s! I find that they're a little less formal than a pointed tip. I'm making them in linen and cotton blends, and I might make some in wool as well. (For Little Winter, I will also be making standard tipped ties in Liberty fabrics and other cottons).

Recently Erin and Robin went to New York and brought back the latest issue of The Gentlewoman for me (I haven't seen it in bookshops here, but I'm sure it will arrive shortly -- it continues to be an excellent magazine, filled with humour and exquisite details). I adore the cover, which features the Dutch fashion photographer Inez van Lamsweerde in a fake beard and a silk blouse by Hannah McGibbon for Chloé. It's a beautiful image, a beautiful juxtapostion. Really striking. It inspired me to dig out my ruffled vintage blouse for these pictures, and to wear one of my own neckties for the first time. I think it will be just the thing to wear with my felt hat, which I am wearing in this picture that I took with my phone.

27.9.10

This particular installment of "This is where I live" has been a few months in the works, but I didn't want to post another one until I had this one done. It required a trip to Hamilton, which is about 60 kilometres outside of Toronto; this trip kept getting postponed for one reason or another. I thought the wait was worth it, and I'm already looking forward to our next trip.

This home belongs to my favourite knitter, Tara-Lynn, her partner Jason, and their sweet 8 year old daughter, Enid Rose. I knew that I would love their place after seeing glimpses of this apartment and past ones on her Flickr account (starting back when I first discovered Tara-Lynn's knits in the Myspace age, maybe around 2005?). It was a total girl crush at first sight.

Geoff & I arrived in Hamilton in the afternoon, stopping by White Elephant to give Hollie & Jane a little Polaroid of Pony (Hollie affixed it to the cash register). We picked up coffee at Mulberry Street, headed to the Mountain, and were welcomed into this effervescent home with brightly-coloured walls. The walls are painted bright shades: lime green, tomato red, baby blue. But Tara-Lynn and Jason have such calm, lovely personalities that the home feels so soothing amidst all the colour. The apartment is filled with books, artwork, and treasures collected & rescued over the course of many years. I think Jason feels a little funny about having his own artwork on the walls, but if I were an artist as talented as he is, I would have it up too.

We spent a really beautiful evening there before heading down to James St. North for the Supercrawl.

The papercut on the top shelf (as well as the papercut in the last picture below) are by Chad of Mon Petit Fantome.

This pretty kitty is called Mable!

Geoff and Jason were engaged in conversation here, probably about art. I love it when my dude can find a kindred spirit in another dude.

This was painted by one of Tara-Lynn's relatives.

One of my favourite drawings by Jason.

Tara-Lynn is busy preparing for the Puces Pop festival in Montreal this weekend. If you happen to go by, make sure to say hello! If you pick something up from her table, I can guarantee you will love it (I have many knits from her and I love each one -- lots of other happy customers pictured here).

Enid has the best room!

This pretty ball of yarn with seashell tones is going to become a headband for lil' ol' me! I can't wait.

I got a haircut at a new salon that opened up in my neighbourhood this week: The Proudest Pony! After I saw the name, I knew I had to try it out. I usually go to the Aveda Academy since it's so cheap, but I'm happy to spend a little more to be within walking distance of some lovely ladies who can trim my bangs for me! I can't be bothered to go out to King & Jarvis to trim my bangs & usually end up massacring them at the bathroom sink -- I am no Erin Fetherston. Anyhow, I just got a straightforward trim, but I'm very happy with it.

Their sign is amazing.

And just to make it a triple, here's a recent picture of my little Pony, Oreo's greatest nemesis.

If only I had visited Magic Pony today! Then it would have been a quadruple.

22.9.10

This is a bit of a departure for me, but I thought this would be an appropriate post for the last day of summer.

It took me a really long time to appreciate tea. When I was little I had a sip of (possibly over-steeped) orange pekoe and decided then & there that tea was not for me. Now I really love it, and while I do love something simple like a Twinings Earl Grey, I enjoy visiting tea shops and picking out loose leaf tea blends. It's overwhelming, and I can't help that I am a sucker for a clever name or a pretty label.

I'm particularly fond of dessert teas, since it's a pretty guilt-free way to indulge in something dessert-like. I love coconut flavours, nutty flavours, and rich, creamy flavours. I don't love fruity flavours, and I'm learning to love smoky flavours. When I want something that I can sip all day, I like The Skinny from David's Tea (but not because I think it will make me skinny! I like warming teas).

Here are a few that I've been enjoying lately. I keep a kettle at my desk at work and in the fall & winter, I get a lot of use out of it. These teas are from two tea shops: David's Tea (a Canadian company founded in Montreal), and Tealish (a Toronto company). For the record, I am absolutely not a tea purist. I don't know nearly enough about it to be.

Double Chocolate Rooibos from Tealish. I'm not a big fan of rooibos but this one is nice. I wanted a chocolate tea to help me kick my Starbucks mocha habit ($4 each and with 30+ grams of sugar!).

Vanilla Cream from Tealish. A classic. If I could only choose one tea, it would be a vanilla cream. Taylors of Harrogate used to make an excellent vanilla black tea but it seems to be discontinued.

One of my favourite teas from Tealish is Patisserie, but they happened to be sold out of it when I visited.

Café Mocha from David's Tea. I love coffee but maybe it would be a good idea to cut back on it a bit (I will never cut it out completely, because I love it too much). I had this instead of coffee this morning and it did the trick.

20.9.10

I really love the name "Chelsea": it automatically brings to mind "Chelsea Girl." I hope you love your name if you're a Chelsea.

My print copy of issue #2 of Chelsea magazine arrived in the mail last week, which was so exciting (although if you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I've been talking about it for a while). It's the clever & pretty magazine companion to the excellent Cat Party blog, with beautiful fashion spreads (one called "Heaven's Gate" is especially great -- a few images are below), horoscopes, and hilarious articles. The interview with Susien and Nic from Lover was so charming, and now my hankerin' to see a psychic is stronger than ever. Also, it came with some buttons, including Stevie Nicks and Sweet Valley High ones -- pretty amazing. Best of all, it has fashion drawings of cats by Elizabeth Moch.

RECOMMENDED! You can preview the issue on the website, or order a copy for 15 bones through the website. Here are a few additional images from the issue.

15.9.10

My good pals (and occasional employers) at Robber are having a little party on Friday to celebrate the fact that the shop now sells menswear. There will be drinks, food by the excellent Blinn Catering, and music by Dylan Barlow (who does Heavy Pettying at The Atlantic).

10.9.10

Last night I attended the opening for a beautiful show called The Dazzle at Narwhal, a "a study and celebration of collection fetishism." About 30 artists participated, including Melinda and Carly, and the gallery was so packed that when we left, there was a lineup to get in.

If you're in Toronto, I would encourage you to stop by. There is so much to take in! I was there for a couple of hours and didn't manage to look at everything. I took a few pictures, although it was so crowded that this was very difficult to do with a 50mm lens, particularly one that won't autofocus. It was definitely one of the best openings I've been to in a long time -- it's always nice when you bump into friends you weren't expecting to see, as well as those you were expecting to see!

If you like collections of things, magic, and taxidermy too, this is the show for you.